Automobile safety barrier

ABSTRACT

A railing open at the bottom thereof and being held up by posts with bracket bands attached to the railing by means of combination fastening and reflecting elements, the railing providing illuminated directions for passing drivers on either side thereof.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Harry W. lrwin 115 S. Marshall St., Lancaster, Pa. 17602 [21] Appl. No. 35,625 [22] Filed May 8, 1970 [45] Patented Jan. 11, 1972 [54] AUTOMOBILE SAFETY BARRIER 3 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

52 U.S. C1 256/l3.1 [51] Int. Cl..... E0lf 15/00 [50] Field ofSearch ..256/13.1, 1,

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,849,167 3/1932 Bente 256/l3.1 2,163,809 6/1939 Rauen 256/13.1 2,410,228 10/1946 Maxey 256/131 Primary Examiner- Dennis L. Taylor AttorneyVictor .1. Evans & Co.

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ABSTRACT: A railing open at the bottom thereof and being held up by posts with bracket bands attached to the railing by means of combination fastening and reflecting elements, the

, railing providing illuminated directions for passing drivers on either side thereof.

PATENTED JAN] 1 I972 IN VEN TOR. A 42w W. [e W/A AVMAAZYS.

AUTOMOBILE SAFETY BARRIER This invention relates to a safety barrier on the medial strip between opposite lanes at bends and curves in the road.

Accordingly, the primary object of this invention is to prevent head-on collisions.

Another object of this invention is to provide combination railing fasteners and reflectors.

A further object of this invention is to provide means for joining curved sections of railings.

A still further object of this invention is to provide illuminated directions for drivers passing by on both sides of the railing.

The above and other objects of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of this invention taken together with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 a plan view of the railing;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 ofFIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 66 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a cross brace.

Referring in detail to the drawing, there is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 sections 20 of a safety barrier rail. As shown in FIG. 3, sections 20 may be joined with a joining plate 22 bolted to the end portions of the sections 20. Sections 20 may also be joined with the-use of a cross brace 24 which is shown in FIG. 7. An end plate 26 is attached to the end of the barrier safety rail. Highway warning lights or reflectors may be attached to plates 26. Illuminated or reflected directions for drivers may be fastened to the top of sections 20 as shown in FIG. 6 wherein a housing 28 houses a source of illumination 30 for lighting up both sides of housing 28 in order to give information to passing drivers on both sides of section 20.

Secured to and extending from the ground are posts 32 which support sections 20. An adjustable bracket band 34 loops around posts 32 at any desired angle for connection to sections 20 by means of bolts 36. A post top 38 mounted on top of posts 32 carries most of the weight of section 20. A groove 40 in the top surface of post top 38 may be used for electric wiring 42 for lighting in order to illuminate signs on sections 20 and the ground due to light (not shown) shining from the open bottom of section 20. Reflecting bolt washers 46 are used with bolts 36 along the sides of section 20. in order to aid the electric lighting, and if there is a power failure, washers 46 will glow in the darkness providing a minimum of safety for motorists until such time as the electrical lighting is turned back on.

While the preferred embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that modifications and changes may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Iclaim:

1. An automobile safety barrier, comprising an open bottom railing having an inverted U-shaped cross section, a plurality of posts extending from the medial strip of the road bed between oppositely travelled lanes, post tops secured to the top of said posts, said railing mounted over and resting on said post tops, said railing being capable of enclosing and supporting therewithin electric lighting and allowing such lighting to shine through the open bottoms thereof onto the medial strip;

said post tops having a groove in the top surface thereof, electrical wiring passing through and mounted within said groove below the bottom surface of the top wall of said railing, and said railing having a V-projection extending downward from said top wall with the vertex thereof adjacent the top surface of said wiring in the same vertical plane as the longitudinal axis of said groove for holding said wiring within said groove.

2. The automobile safety barrier of claim 1, including a plurality of railings and means for joining the ends of adjacent railings for forming a safety barrier along the road, said means having the outer surface thereof mating with the bottom surface of said V-projection, said means being positioned against and making physical contact throughout the entire outer surface thereof with the inside surface of the end portions of said adjacent railings and bolted thereto.

3. The automobile safety barrier of claim 2, including bolts for mounting said railing to said posts and washers between the heads of said bolts and said railing and having a diameter substantially larger than that of the heads of said bolts, said washers comprising reflecting material for glowing at night and lighting said railing in addition to electrical lighting and in place of electrical lighting during power failures. 

1. An automobile safety barrier, comprising an open bottom railing having an inverted U-shaped cross section, a plurality of posts extending from the medial strip of the road bed between oppositely travelled lanes, post tops secured to the top of said posts, said railing mounted over and resting on said post tops, said railing being capable of enclosing and supporting therewithin electric lighting and allowing such lighting to shine through the open bottoms thereof onto the medial strip, said post tops having a groove in the top surface thereof, electrical wiring passing through and mounted within said groove below the bottom surface of the top wall of said railing, and said railing having a V-projection extending downward from said top wall with the vertex thereof adjacent the top surface of said wiring in the same vertical plane as the longitudinal axis of said groove for holding said wiring within said groove.
 2. The automobile safety barrier of claim 1, including a plurality of railings and means for joining the ends of adjacent railings for forming a safety barrier along the road, said means having the outer surface thereof mating with the bottom surface of said V-projection, said means being positioned against and making physical contact throughout the entire outer surface thereof with the inside surface of the end portions of said adjacent railings and bolted thereto.
 3. The automobile safety barrier of claim 2, including bolts for mounting said railing to said posts and washers between the heads of said bolts and said railing and having a diameter substantially larger than that of the heads of said bolts, said washers comprising reflecting material for glowing at night and lighting said railing in addition to electrical lighting and in place of electrical lighting during power failures. 